Sideways Sid says....

Rule 1. Don`t get carried away and buy the first car you see. Use your head not your over excited heart! We can all get very passionate about our Porsches you know.

Rule 2.. Drive a few to get an inkling as to the feel of good, bad and crap cars. Take your time, find a good one and it will save you £££££`s in the long run. Porsches big attrction being the build quality which is on a par with a Sherman Tank! But because of the value and reputation of these cars there are some mega heaps floating around. Get the car checked over by a Porsche specialist and listen to what they say. Contact people like Paragon who sell a lot of 964`s. Good and bad reports about them but no risk talking to them.

Rule 3... Talk to as many people as possible who own/drive/sell 964`s. We are all biased so get as many opinions as possible.

Rule 4.... Low mileage is good but not always the best thing for the car, low mileage cars can suffer from lack of use when condensation in the engine can cause corrosion. Sticking clutch mechanism and brakes also a possible problem due to lack of use. Around 3 - 4000 miles per annum is good. So if you can find a car with 40,000 to 50,000 miles it is worth further investigation. Lots around with 60,000 to 70,000 but much over this and the car is past its best and lots of bits are starting to wear out which cancels out the money saved and after you spend the money ot is still a tired car. No doubt others will have their own opinions and views on this (watch this space).

Rule 5..... Service history, ideally by an Official Porsche Centre. Find out where your nearest on is located. Pay them a visit. Glean some info from them. They are normally staffed (stuffed even) with Porsche enthusiasts who are generally very knowledgeable.

Rule 6...... Join the 964 register it does not cost anything and is fairly pain free. If you can put up with warped minds and warped sense of humour you should do well. If you own a warped mind you automatically qualify! Get along to your regional meeting and there will normally be a few 964`s around. Speak to their owners.

Rule 7....... Read 911 and Porsche world and scan the back pages for car prices. Also Top Marques which normally covers everything from the Dogs Danglies to Old Dogs. And remember BUYER BEWARE.

Marlin - must have FPSH
Should get Engineers inspection
Run an outstanding finance and previous accident check through H.P.I or similar -

Matthew G - I have been looking at the advice given on the site which is very good and informative, however I disagree on one point. This bit.. (Lots around with 60,000 to 70,000 but much over this and the car is past its best and lots of bits are starting to wear out which cancels out the money saved and after you spend the money ot is still a tired car. No doubt others will have their own opinions and views on this (watch this space).)
I have experience of 3.2 carrera with over 200,000 miles which cost me very little to run for three years possibly due to very good service history.
Presently I have a 964 tip cab (Hreg) with 149,000 miles and once again a very good service history purchased from Henry Firman which I have owned for a while and has cost me nothing in upkeep. It has had top end rebuild, new brakes, new oil pipes and further big work completed previous to my ownership and main dealer history.
If you can look for main dealer history and previous owners not scared of paying big bills to maintain their car properly. From my experience a very well maintained, high mileage 964 porsche would be a much better buy than a low mileage, hardly ever used one. Also, if you only do a few thousand miles a year then it won't be regarded a such high mileage in a year or two. I have purchased from Paragon and other specialists before..and the best person/company to deal with (I think) is Henry Firman from Prestige and Performance cars - 01895 255222

Michael H - Check when the clutch / flywheel was replaced, they tend to last 50-80k miles, depending on the driver. It's normally around £800-£1500 to replace it (or double if you use an OPC) so you don't want to be faced with that sort of bill immediately! When I was looking, I was repeatedly told "buy on condition, not mileage" so 100k should be fine if the car has been well-respected - 6th July, 2000

Melvin S - Just spoke to a chap who's had his C4 for 12 months. Disappointed in the way it handles and bangs and crashes and frightens him in the wet. Charles Ivey identified worn out wishbone bushes, that improved things a bit; suggested alignment at 300 quid -he declined; put four new Uniroyals on ("doesn't matter on the make, they're all the same mate...") So...deep breath...I've pointed him in the direction of Craig at GT One to get the alignment sorted; Bernard Aubrey to show him that it's not a scary car, and suggested when he wears out the Uniroyals, he visits us for some advice - 13th March, 2001

Mike F - I totally agree with your comments, I also purchased my '89 C4 from Henry Firman, whilst my car had only done about 70k when I got it (now 80k) it has only cost me routine service work/clutch - 16th March, 2001